How To Learn To Speak In English – 7 Ways

How To Learn To Speak In English

Do you want to knowhow to learn to speak in English? While learning the English language may come easy to some people, others struggle with the complex nature of the English language due to the language system they were brought up with.

If you’re struggling to make the transition from your native tongue to speaking English, you may find this article useful in mastering the different elements related to this subject.

Make sure you try out these suggestions and remember that learning a new language comes with time and practice. Without further ado, here are the 7 ways you can find out how to learn to speak in English.

7 Ways To Learn English

1. Get Comfortable with the Basics

There’s a pretty big chance you already know more English than you may realize. Start simple and take small steps. Basics such as “Hello”, “How are you?” and maybe even some numerals are probably already in your vocabulary. Build off of this.

Use the few things you do know to start incorporating verbs and pronouns. Turn “How are you?” into “How is she?” or “How are the children?”

Memorize the different conjugations of simple verbs such as “to be”. Get comfortable with English sentence structure, which is most commonly subject-verb-object. Practice your English through conversation. This is a great way to gain a better understanding of pronoun use.

2. Get Familiar with Grammar

Grammar can be difficult in English because there are so many fine details and exceptions to rules. Begin with the now, that is to say, the present tense. Here you’ve got the present simple and present continuous. The present simple tense is used to state facts and habits.

For instance, “I go to school every day at 7 AM”, is a present simple tense sentence. A present continuous tense is used to talk about things that are currently happening. This would be something like, “I am walking to work”. We can think of it in simpler terms as the ‘-ing’ sentences. The actions are in the process of occurring.

Once you’ve become comfortable with the present tense, it’s time to master the past and future tenses. These can be a bit more challenging, but you’ve got this. The past simple tense is used when an event has occurred in the past at a specific time. This would be something like “He was born last year.”

The action occurred (being born) at a specific time (last year). When using the future tense, you can incorporate a bit of the present tense. You can use the present continuous and simply add a future time marker like this: “We are fixing the car tomorrow”. The verb works the same way as the present continuous, but we are pushing the timeframe into the future by adding “tomorrow” as a timestamp.

3. Adjectives Go Before Nouns

This is an important part of speaking English. There are many languages (such as Spanish), where this is reversed. For example, instead of saying “the blue house”, it would be “the house blue” (la casa azul). This can take some getting used to, but in English, the adjective is always before the noun.

4. Maintain Your Level of Progress

As you are learning English, you want to make sure that you don’t lose progress. This is especially important for those who have less opportunities to actively practice.

Start labeling things around the house with English words. This will serve as a constant reminder of the English words for different everyday objects, helping to keep your mind thinking in English, rather than your more comfortable native language.

5. Pay Attention to Pronunciation

If you’re trying to master the English language, pronunciation is important. English is infamous for having exceptions to rules, so pronunciation can have a significant impact to the meaning of some words. Make it a habit to pronounce the last sounds to words.

Even in English, there is a ‘street’ style of speaking where you might not pronounce the ends of words. For example, “walking” might become “walkin’”. Enunciate your words. As a general rule, in English, it is typical to emphasize the first syllable of nouns and the second syllable for verbs.

6. Consider Different Dialects

English, like many other languages, has different dialects depending on where you are from. If you’re living in the South, there’s the famous ‘southern drawl’. If you’re in England, you would be learning to speak with British inflection to your words.

Not only do dialects all sound different, but vocabulary also varies. For example, a simple word like “bathroom” in typical American English would be “loo” in England or “washroom” in other places, such as the southern states in America.

7. Utilize the Resources Available to You

Invest in a quality bilingual dictionary that can help translate between your native language and English. This will be a handy tool when you’re literally at a loss for a word here and there in your communication with others. A pocket sized dictionary can be very helpful during you practice.

Spend time practicing your English with native English speakers. It might be difficult and intimidating at first, but one of the best things you can do to help you speak in English, is actually do it. You need to get comfortable speaking in English with others who are very comfortable with the language.

This will be extremely helpful because whoever you are speaking with will be able to correct you, help you understand things, and help with your pronunciation. If you don’t have native English speaking friends or family, consider a pen pal or tutor.

Watch English TV programs or movies, and listen to English music. Not only are you learning how to speak in English, but you need to start understanding it as well. Watching TV or listening to music in English and with subtitles will help you start understanding the language.

Watching children’s programming in particular with help you build your vocabulary and start to understand. After all, these children’s shows are usually aimed at teaching younger audiences how to form sentences, use proper grammar, etc. Record some shows so you can play back at your own pace and start to understand what words mean based on the actions occurring on the screen.

Think in English. It’s going to be difficult to remember this one, but it’s very beneficial to get out of your comfort zone and start to think in English rather than the language you’re used to. You can even think out loud if that makes it easier. This will help keep your English skills at the forefront of your brain.

Final Thoughts

Speaking in English will be a difficult process at first, we won’t sugar coat it. However, finding ways to incorporate the language into your daily life will help make it second nature.

Slowly but surely, you’re going to become more and more comfortable speaking in English and understanding English. Be sure to practice, practice, practice and when it seems impossible, keep pushing through. Before you know it, you’ll be an English speaking master!